


To Thaw A Frozen Heart

by AsagiStilinski



Series: Zine Work [2]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fae, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Magic, Blindness, Character's Name Spelled as Viktor, Character's Name Spelled as Yuri, Crying Victor Nikiforov, Fae & Fairies, Fae Magic, Fairy Tale Curses, Fairy Tale Retellings, Fairy Victor Nikiforov, Injury, Katsuki Yuuri & Yuri Plisetsky Friendship, Long-Haired Victor Nikiforov, M/M, Major Character Injury, Phichit Chulanont & Katsuki Yuuri Are Best Friends, Phichit Chulanont Is a Good Friend, Protective Yuri Plisetsky, Temporary Blindness, Yuri Plisetsky Is Protective of Katsuki Yuuri, Yuri Plisetsky Swears, Zine: Once Upon A Time- A Yuri On Ice fairytale zine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:21:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25044556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsagiStilinski/pseuds/AsagiStilinski
Summary: When Yuri was a child, he lost his sight protecting his friend, YuraNow, years later, when Yura is in danger again, Yuri will do anything it takes to save him, and will make an unexpected ally along the way
Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri & Yuri Plisetsky, Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov
Series: Zine Work [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1813753
Comments: 1
Kudos: 96
Collections: Once Upon A Time (The Yuri On Ice fairytale zine)





	To Thaw A Frozen Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Another for Once Upon A Time, the YOI fairytale zine! https://onceuponayoi.tumblr.com/
> 
> Beta'd by my mom <3

Once upon a time, there lived a young boy named Yuri

Yuri's mother was a healer, who taught him much about herbal medicine- including what to stay away from

"Never touch this ointment," she preached

"Faery Ointment can heal only the Fae, if you touch it, it will burn you, and if you dare let it into your eyes, you will be able to see the magical world- but _only_ the magical world, you must never, **ever** , touch this ointment,"

And for years, he obeyed

Until an old man and his grandson- who was also named Yuri- moved to the village

The villagers called the child Yura, and he and Yuri grew quite close

But one night, when Yura was staying with Yuri's family, Yuri heard screaming come from Yura's room, and went to investigate

His breath caught upon seeing the toddler levitating, kicking and screaming against the force that bewitched him

Yuri knew instantly what this was- a faery who was about to exchange Yura for a Fae child, a changeling...

Yuri wished to act, but he knew he would have to see the faery to defeat it

He raced into the medicine room and took the ointment and an iron rod, before rushing back, and quickly applying the Faery Ointment to his eyes

The burning was unlike any pain Yuri had ever felt, his screams enough to distract the faery

When Yuri could finally open his eyes, he saw only the faery- older, stern, and dark haired

Yuri let the ointment fall to the ground, charged forward, and struck the faery with the iron

She shrieked and dropped Yura to the ground before Yuri watched her leave- for years, it was the last sight he ever beheld

Though Yuri thought it strange, if the faery had been trying to make an exchange, then why hadn't he seen a baby faery as well...?

~+~

Yura remembered when his friend lost his sight, that terrible night when Yuri blinded himself to protect him

From that day on, Yuri's eyes were no longer warm cinnamon brown, but instead a muted, whitened grey

Yura hated Fae after that, and each time he stared at Yuri's unfocused eyes, he just hated them more

Even at five, Yura understood how great that sacrifice had been, and he swore from that day to be what Yuri lost for him- Yura would be his eyes

~+~

It was an ordinary day, the next time Yuri saw anything

His mother had started avoiding Fae, so it was another ten years before Yuri saw a hint of magic

"Red or green?"

"Green,"

Yuri nodded thankfully as he bit into the apple before offering it to Yura

A smirk fell over his face as his friend gently took his wrist and positioned it correctly, then bit into the apple himself

They were close before Yuri went blind, but they were inseparable now, Yura an ever constant presence that refused to leave Yuri's side

Unnecessary, but sweet

It was as Yuri was bringing the apple back to his mouth that it happened

For the first time in years, he _saw_ something

The apple fell, tears gathering in his eyes as he began to run

"H-Hey!! Yurochka, come back!!"

"I-I.... I... _saw_ something!" Yuri gasped, trembling like a leaf as he ran to the woods

"...You what?"

"I **SAW** something!" Yuri screamed back in ecstasy

"W-Wait! What did you see!? Was it a faery!?"

"I-I don't know... it went too fast, but it was THERE, Yura! It was there!"

He ran further, praying that whatever it was would return, but something began to feel.... _off_

Sinister

**Wrong**

"Y-Yura....?" he called out, suddenly very aware of how alone he felt, despite the fact that Yura should have been right beside him

"Yur--ow!!"

He fell to the ground, having been pushed by an unknown force

"Yur-"

" _Fat_ ," seethed a familiar voice

"You ugly, fat pig!" Yura sneered

"Yura...?"

"You ruined my life! You ugly, weak, helpless thing!! I'd rather the faeries have had me than ever have to be a slave to trash like you!!"

This wasn't Yura speaking, it... _couldn't_ be, right?

How could this possibly be the sweet, if a bit bristly, teen who had taken care of him for the last ten years?

"Y-Yura... please... what did I-"

"Don't EVER call me that again, in fact, forget you ever knew me,"

Yuri heard him run off, and then, he was alone

~+~

Hours later, Phichit- Yuri's other best friend- found Yuri wandering in the snow, desperately searching for Yura

"I wish I could say I was surprised," he said after Yuri's explanation

"But this has been happening everywhere, people see something shimmering and then they turn cruel, they still don't know what's causing it, only that it's-"

"Magic," Yuri concluded quietly

"I.... _saw_ something, so.... it had to be magic..."

"Oh Yuri..." Phichit breathed sympathetically, gently hugging his friend

"Don't worry, ok? I won't let anything happen to you, I'll stay with you until all of this is over, you'll be safe with me,"

"I don't... _need_ to be safe, I need to find Yura, I need to rescue him,"

"Yuri.... you know that I love you, and I know how capable you are, but... this isn't your fight ok? Please, leave it to the hunters and healers,"

"No, I'm not leaving him out there,"

"...Ok, say you found him, how would you get him back here if he doesn't want to be around you?"

"I.... don't know, but I'd think of something!"

Phichit squeezed again, and Yuri knew it was a lost cause

~+~

Once Phichit fell asleep, Yuri snuck out

He didn't know how he would find Yura when he couldn't see, but that wouldn't stop him

Much to his relief, a few minutes into his journey, he saw something again, and this time it wasn't just a spark- it was a _dog_...

He rushed forward and reached out, happily stroking through her bright silver fur

"If I can see you.... then you must be magic," he concluded softly

"Please... can you take me to my friend? _Please_..."

The dog barked, tail wagging, and took off into the woods, with Yuri following suit

After what felt like ages, Yuri saw something else

Not only did he see snow, and a frozen lake, but he saw.... a _person_

A _beautiful_ person, so pale that he nearly blended in with the snow, his hair long and glimmering silver...

"Makkachin!" he cried brightly upon hearing the dog barking, turning and reaching out with joy

And if Yuri had thought the man's back was beautiful, it was nothing compared to his _face_

Perfectly structured bones, soft lips with a hint of pink against the otherwise pale-as-flour flesh, and his eyes...

Yuri had never seen such a bright and enchanting shade of blue

Surely, this man must be a faery

"Can you see me...?" he asked quietly, upon noticing Yuri's gaze

"Yes..." Yuri breathed as he sat next to the faery

"I lost my sight when I was a child, to Faery Ointment, trying to save my friend... ever since I've only been able to see magic-touched things, I've lived in a world of darkness all this time and now... _now_ I see _you_.. and this snow! And that lake! Oh, how do I see it all!?"

The faery's face fell

"Because it's..... all magic... I'm a Snow Faery, creating snow and ice are what I do, this snow has been touched by magic just by my being here,"

"And the lake...?"

The faery shook his head somberly

"Something far worse, the lake has been touched by The Mirror Of Distortion, a mirror that was cursed by an Unseelie- a dark faery- so that any who touches it becomes filled with hatred, the Unseelie was trying to use it against my people, so I stole the mirror to destroy it, I froze it over and over again, until the glass shattered, I'd intended for the mirror to break into large pieces and then to crush and drown them, freeze the lake over forever, all the way down to the bottom, so that no one would ever find them, but it splintered worse than I thought and... now there are millions of tiny shards embedded in the ice, I can't even cross over the water due to the risk of touching them, even going _around_ the lake, I could step on one... and worse, I think some of the shards flew into the air, I don't know where they went... I thought I was fixing things, but I only made them worse..."

The faery was crying now, tears that shimmered like crystals running down his cheeks

"Please don't cry," Yuri said softly, hugging the faery

"It isn't your fault, you were helping..."

The faery sniffed, hugging Yuri as tightly as he could

"It doesn't matter now though... everything is ruined... I'm trapped here, away from home, and... and who knows how many people have suffered now?"

"Can't you just freeze over the lake again?"

The faery shook his head, holding out his palm to form jagged ice

"I worry that if I do, I'll only dislodge the glass already embedded in the ice,"

"Can't you fly over the lake, atleast, and go home?"

The faery's face twisted into agony, hanging his head

"No.... I lost my wings years ago... I can't fly anymore...."

Yuri's heart ached, and he hugged the faery tighter

"Don't worry, we'll find a way to fix everything,"

"Why?" the faery asked softly

"Why do you care so much?"

"Because one of the glass shards got into my friend’s eyes,"

"His eyes...?" the faery breathed

"He'll only be able to see horrible things.... lies and... and trickery!!"

"I know, I have to help him, but to do that, I think _you_ need to help _me_.... are you willing?"

The faery nodded, taking Yuri's hand

"Ofcourse,"

"Good," Yuri sighed in relief

"I'm Yuri,"

"Viktor," the faery smiled

"It's nice to meet you Viktor, I think I have a way to get across this lake,"

"You do?"

"If you can help me,"

Viktor stood, helping Yuri to his feet

"Anything,"

"Can you create skates out of ice?"

"I... _can_.... but you would only kick up those shards if you tried to skate over them,"

"Yes, but I could see them and get rid of them,"

"Unless they get in our eyes,"

"That's why you'll skate with your eyes closed, create snow on the other side of the lake so I can see it, and I'll be your eyes,"

Using Yura's words only drove him to be more eager to save his old friend, and protect his new one

"I'm blind to everything but magic, even if the shards get in my eyes it won't matter, once I'm away from anything magic, there will be nothing the mirror could distort for me,"

"You would really risk being blind to _all_ good things?" Viktor asked quietly

"Why not? In all these years... today is the first day I've seen anything... I'd rather give Yura back his sight than hold onto whatever shards remain of mine, and... I'd be ok with you being my last good sight,"

"Yuri..." Viktor breathed, blinking back tears and letting go of Yuri's hand just long enough to shed his coat and wrap it around Yuri's shoulders

"You must be freezing..."

"Thank you..." Yuri smiled shyly, watching as Viktor stepped back and began conjuring a snow storm on the other side of the lake, before a sweep of his hand brought thick blades of ice beneath their boots

"Are you _really_ sure about this?"

"I am," Yuri confirmed, taking Viktor's hand as the faery hesitantly led him onto the ice

Viktor closed his eyes and held Yuri tightly, and so they danced, each guiding the other across the ice, until they finally came to the edge

"Yuri... how could I ever thank you for this?" Viktor breathed

"Just help me find Yura," Yuri smiled back

Determined, Viktor nodded and led Yuri again

He kept a snowstorm perpetually ahead of them, so that Yuri could see his way, and as they walked, they grew quite fond of eachother, until Viktor finally caught sight of Yura, wandering alone in the snow

"Yura!!" Yuri shouted in relief

"What are you doing here, ugly pig!?" Yura shouted

"I came to help!"

"I don't WANT your help!"

Thinking quickly, Viktor blew a gust of snow against the blonde, so that Yuri could see where he was

Instantly, Yuri let go of Viktor's hand and ran, hugging Yura as tightly as possible despite his struggles

"W-What... are you doing!? UGLY PIG!!"

"I love you Yura," Yuri said quietly, feeling his friend go still in his arms

"I love you, you're my friend, you're brave and determined, funny and smart, you're rough around the edges but you're so sweet and kind beneath them, you're so strong... and so beautiful... I love you, _I **love** you_,"

Suddenly, Yura let out a strangled sob, collapsing against Yuri as warm tears spilled from his eyes and dislodged the cursed glass, allowing him to see clearly thanks to the kindness and love Yuri had displayed

Even when he was cruel, Yuri still loved him unconditionally

"Yurochka..." Yura breathed

"You came all this way... you rescued me... after all that I said and did, why?"

"Because I love you," Yuri repeated quietly

Yura hugged his friend tighter, looking up slowly... and, as he had been touched by Viktor's magic, spotting the faery despite his glamor

"Who's with you? Is that... is that a fucking faery?!"

"Yura-"

Before Yuri could say more, Yura suddenly pushed him away, stepping in front of him and pulling an iron blade from his belt

"GET AWAY!" he shouted, rushing toward Viktor as the faery stumbled backwards in fear

"Demonic beast!!! I'll kill you!!"

"Yura stop! He helped me!!"

Viktor fell back, raising a shield of ice to protect himself, but it didn't detour Yura, who cut through it faster than Viktor could produce ice

Yuri ran forward and grabbed at Yura's snow-covered form, but Yura was so angry that in his rage, he spun around, the blade still pushing forward.... into Yuri's chest

Viktor and Yura screamed as Yuri fell to the ground, but to no avail

"Yurochka!!"

Yura no longer minded Viktor as he sank to the ground beside him, panic filling his body

Yura reached for the blade, but Viktor quickly stopped him

"Don't, he'll bleed out!"

"So what am I supposed to do!? Just leave it there?!"

"G-Godmother..." Viktor called suddenly, tears streaming down his face

"GODMOTHER!! PLEASE!!! Don't let my love die!! Please, Godmother!!"

There was a flutter of wings, Viktor sobbing in relief as he turned

"Please save him, please! I love him, and-"

"Enough," the other faery demanded, gripping the ends of Viktor's hair, and with a snap of her fingers, cutting them off

"Remove the blade, child," she instructed, taking a sewing needle from her pocket and beginning to weave Viktor's hair through it

Hesitantly, Yura pulled the blade out and in a near instant, she pierced Yuri's flesh with the needle, and wove the hair across the wound before scooping Yuri into her arms, and disappearing in a gust of wind and snow

~+~

When Yuri woke, he realized instantly that he could see

He could see _everything_

"How...?"

"You're in the faery world,"

Turning, he beamed upon seeing Viktor's face, lunging forward to embrace him

"Viktor!!"

"Yuri, thank the Goddess... are you ok?"

"I'm _amazing_ ,"

"Our healer, Otabek, has really outdone himself it seems," Viktor smiled with relief

"So it seems," Yuri smiled back weakly

"I told everyone what you did, they're impressed with your bravery and purity of heart, they... invited you to stay here with us,"

"Here..?"

"Yes! You could stay here and you could _see_!! And you and I... we could be together, I... I've fallen for you, Yuri, I want to be with you,"

"Viktor... I-"

"Yurochka!!"

Yuri turned as Yura rushed toward him from the doorway, slamming into him and squeezing him tightly

"Oh thank God!! I thought I'd lost you!!"

"Y-Yura!? I... I can see you!!"

"Yeah I know, the faeries glamoured me!"

Yuri pulled back, cupping Yura's face and smiling at him

"And... you're ok with being here? With the faeries?"

"They're.... not so bad.... the healer's nice... I guess the faery from before was just an asshole," Yura muttered back

"Seems so," Yuri smiled back warmly

"Yurochka listen.... Viktor told me that you can stay, and... I think-"

"It's her..." Yuri interrupted

"Huh?"

"The faery who tried to steal you! That's her!" Yuri shouted as he grabbed Viktor and Yura, trying to push them behind him

"Yuri, it can't be-"

"I'd never forget that face!! It's her!" Yuri shouted, glaring at the faery in the doorway

"Yuri that's my godmother, Lilia!" Viktor finally explained

Slowly, Yuri looked up at Viktor, dread on his face

"...What.....?"

"I thought you seemed familiar," Lilia noted

"I remember that night, the fearless child who blinded himself for the sake of his friend and attacked me with iron, I still have that scar,"

"You do?"

Somehow, that was all Yuri could manage to ask

"Iron scars never heal,"

He felt Viktor tense, though he didn't know why

"Why... were you trying to take Yura that night?"

"To restore Vitya's wings," she replied somberly

"Vitya was just an ignorant child, barely older than your friend is now, he had fallen for a human, who sought to destroy him, he butchered my godson while he slept, chopped off his hair and took his wings with an iron blade, he even tried to take Vitya's eyes, but Vitya managed to wake in time and defend himself, that.... _beast_... I tracked the line of his blood to your friend, I thought if I took him, perhaps, I could barter with that demon, his child, for _my_ child's wings, it was wrong to involve an innocent in this.... but if he was _your_ child, you would have done the same,"

Yuri considered that, perhaps, she was right

Perhaps, if Yura had been the one disfigured, disabled, and scarred, maybe Yuri _would have_ done the same to return his wings

Maybe...

"My father..." Yura breathed

"My father abandoned my mother before I was born, I never knew him..."

Lilia grimaced, hanging her head

"I apologize to you, human, for the pain I have caused, please... accept our invitation to remain here, where you can see, and you will have life as long as a faery's,"

"I'm sorry," Yuri said quietly

"I can't, I can't spend the rest of my life away from my friends and family,"

"Yurochka, think about this," Yura frowned

"You'll have your sight back-"

"It isn't worth never being able to be near you again! Or Phichit, or my parents! Sight isn't worth losing the people I love..."

"Can't you just travel back and forth?"

And so a new face had arrived, one with a square jaw, black hair, and dark eyes

"Everyone hates faeries in that village, after what transpired before," Lilia explained

"But... maybe they don't have to..." Yura suggested

"If we tell them what happened, explain you aren't all... _evil_... then maybe they'll accept you again, then you could allow travel,"

"You'd do that?" Viktor asked quietly

"Sure, you're not all the evil pricks I thought you were, and... if this could make Yuri happy... if he could see again, even if only through glamours and magic then... it's well worth it,"

"If you are willing to clear our relationship with your village... then we are willing to allow you and your's to travel here," Lilia reasoned

Viktor squeezed Yuri's hand again, smiling hopefully at him

"Then, Yuri.... stay close to me?"

Yuri nodded as he leaned closer, kissing his new love affectionately

"For an eternity Viktor,"

~+~

There is a village beneath the mountains, where it's said that faeries travel

Even after many centuries, when people began to fall out of touch with the Fae, it is said that this village still maintains a relationship with them

Stories are told about the frozen lake that, even in summer, never melts

About how once upon a time, a human worked with a faery to seal away a cursed mirror beneath the lake's surface

They say the two were in love, and lived in the faery realm

That the human's friends and family visited him there often, and gradually, some began to stay with the faeries as well, for the faeries were a warm and welcoming people

They say that the faery who he fell in love with lost his wings, but one day, after many years, their oldest daughter set off to find them, and return them to her father

They say that the couple's oldest son travels the human realm, creating medicine, and looking for a cure for his father's partial blindness

And they say that sometimes, in the middle of winter, you might just see the faery and his husband skating across the frozen lake, the faery's coat wrapped around his husband's shoulders to keep him warm and young, even outside of the faery realm

And they say that if ever a kind person suddenly becomes cruel, then perhaps a shard of the cursed mirror has flown into their eyes, and only an act of kindness and love, will manage to clear their vision again

"Always be kind," the villagers say

"You never know where one act of kindness will take you,"


End file.
